Rite Aid Named First National Retail Partner of Text4baby

Text4baby is the nation’s largest mobile health information service, reaching over 600,000 moms since launch in 2010.

In case you missed this last week: "Rite Aid Named First National Retail Partner of Text4baby"

Rite Aid Providing 10,000 Free Flu Shots to Enrolled Moms

Camp Hill, Pa. (Sept. 26, 2013) – Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) has been named the first national retail partner of text4baby, the nation’s only free text messaging service for pregnant women and mothers of infants under age one. Rite Aid is bringing its broad consumer reach and reputation as a trusted community health care provider to support text4baby in connecting more women to important health and safety information. In celebration of the new partnership and its ongoing commitment to maternal and child health, Rite Aid is providing 10,000 free flu shots to text4baby mothers this flu season*.

John Learish, Rite Aid senior vice president of marketing explains, “Our partnership with text4baby and founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson directly aligns with our commitment to improving the health and well-being of women, our core customer, and their children. We’re pleased to be able to use our broad customer base and our associates to help connect women to text4baby and the valuable information it provides to mothers.”

PROST8CARE Timed Text Messages around chemotherapy treatment cycles

Are you familiar with PROST8CARE ?

Mobile Commons, Sanofi US, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) have joined forces to create PROST8CARE™, a new text messaging program that delivers encouragement to men with advanced prostate cancer, timed to coincide with their chemotherapy treatment cycles.

PROST8CARE provides information—created by a board of oncologists and oncology nurses in partnership with PCF—to help patients and their caregivers understand their course of therapy. The text messages are designed to increase patients’ involvement—and help reinforce the information provided by their professional health care teams.



Learn more about this here.

HIPAA compliance (or non-compliance): when doctors text patients

We all know that standard texting (SMS) is not encrypted. So, why do doctors text patients? Because it's easy, convenient, and in many cases it's what patients want. Text messages that contain PHI (personal health information) should be encrypted, right? Well, it's not quite that simple or straight-forward.

What's often misunderstood is that text messaging platforms don't always need to be encrypted when a doctor sends a text message to a patient. A physician or health system must assess the security and privacy risks and possible threats involved based on the type of information that is being communicated. Based on that assessment, mitigating strategies (such as encryption) must be put into place.

There's a recent article in the Journal of AHIMA titled, "HIPAA compliance for clinician texting" that summarizes some of the issues surrounding HIPAA and text messages. Here's a brief snippet:


All forms of communication involve some level of risk. Text messaging merely represents a different set of risks that, like other communication technologies, needs to be managed appropriately to ensure both privacy and security of the information exchanged.


Greene, Adam H. "HIPAA Compliance for Clinician Texting." Journal of AHIMA 83, no.4 (April 2012): 34-36.

txt4pharma

txt4pharma is a virtual conference event in which cutting-edge leaders, thinkers and visionaries in healthcare marketing will discuss and share strategies, observations and insights on mobile health communications. It’s also a forum to foster live, interactive dialogue between delegates, speakers and sponsors.

August 22, 2012

The agenda includes:

• Top trends in mobile healthcare
• The mobile world of pharma
• Tale of two mobile initiatives
• The future of mobile health

Learn more here.

Text Messaging in Healthcare: Friend or Foe?

Here is an upcoming webinar titled, "Text Messaging in Healthcare: Friend or Foe?"
Friday, June 15, 2012 | 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT | Duration: 1 Hour

Text messaging has become the #1 form of communication in the United States. This is because it’s one of the fastest, reliable, and efficient forms of information exchange. In healthcare communication, however, SMS text messaging is incompliant and violates HIPAA regulations due to its lack of security.

Aware of the security risks and hefty HIPAA fines, many healthcare professionals choose to continue to use text-messaging to communicate PHI because it is unmatched by any other communication systems that are in place today.

"txt 4 pharma" virtual conference

Save the date for MM&M's txt4pharma virtual event on Thursday, July 26, 2012!

txt 4 pharma is a virtual conference event in which cutting-edge leaders, thinkers and visionaries in healthcare marketing will discuss and share strategies, observations and insights on mobile health communications. It’s also a forum to foster live, interactive dialogue between delegates, speakers and sponsors.

Learn more and you can register here.

Encouraging HIV testing through SMS

Cell-Life has conducted formal research into using SMSs to encourage people in South Africa to get tested for HIV. Here's the abstract:

Investigation into the Use of Short Message Services to Expand Uptake of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing, and Whether Content and Dosage Impact

Objective:

South Africa has one of the highest human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rates in the world, but despite the well-established benefits of HIV counseling and testing (HCT), there is low uptake of HCT. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using short message services (SMSs) to encourage HCT while interrogating the impact of altering SMS content and dosage (the number of SMSs).
Materials and Methods:

About 2,533 participants were recruited via an SMS sent to 24,000 mobiles randomly sampled from a pre-existing database. Recruits were randomly allocated to four intervention groups that received 3 or 10 informational (INFO) or motivational (MOTI) SMSs, and a control group. After the intervention, participants were prompted to go for HCT, and postintervention assessment was done after 3 weeks.

Results:

In comparison with the control, receipt of 10 MOTI messages had the most impact on uptake of HCT with a 1.7-fold increased odds of testing (confidence interval 95%; p=0.0036). The lack of efficacy of three SMSs indicates a threshold effect, that is, a minimum number of MOTI SMSs is required. INFO SMSs, whether 3 or 10 were sent, did not have a statistically significant effect. The cost can be calculated for the marginal effect of the SMSs, that is, the cost to get people to test over and above those who were likely to test without the intervention. Use of 10 MOTI SMSs yielded a cost-per-tester of $2.41.

Conclusions:

While there are methodological issues apparent in our study, the results demonstrate the potential of SMSs to influence the uptake of HCT, the importance of appropriate content, and the need to determine a threshold for SMS-based interventions. These results indicate a potential for SMSs to be used more generally for interventions encouraging people to take health-related actions, and the need for further research in this field. The reasonable cost-per-tester is promising for the scale-up of such an intervention.

TIM Text Information Message for Doctors Offices and Clinics

American Telephony, Inc Announces New Product, TIM, Text Information Message for Doctors Offices and Clinics to Notify Patients Via Text Messages

A new product called TIM - Text Information Messages has been developed primarily for doctor's offices, hospitals and clinics. The system can interface to virtually any practice management system or EMR to automatically send out text messages to patients to remind them of their appointment or other important messages.

Philadelphia, PA, December 07, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Improvements in healthcare provider to patient communication

Text Message Technology Developed by American Telephony Goes More Mobile

American Telephony Inc. has just begun to implement a new SMS text-messaging platform to utilize modern mobile communication. The technology creates direct communication between patients and their healthcare providers.

In response to the current trend in information technology and government investment into National Electronic Medical Records adoption American Telephony Inc. created software called Text Information Messaging (TIM). TIM will now deliver patient appointment reminders, or office generated messages directly to the patient’s mobile phone. In addition, TIM will allow a direct file import from a diverse list of practice management software modules.

The Joint Commission says "not acceptable" to text orders for patients

Last week, the Joint Commission issued a notice that said that it was not acceptable for physicians and other health care professionals to text orders for patients in hospitals. Here's the excerpt:

Texting Orders

Is it acceptable for physicians and licensed independent practitioners (and other practitioners allowed to write orders) to text orders for patients to the hospital or other healthcare setting?

No it is not acceptable for physicians or licensed independent practitioners to text orders for patients to the hospital or other healthcare setting. This method provides no ability to verify the identity of the person sending the text and there is no way to keep the original message as validation of what is entered into the medical record.

Center for Connected Health awarded McKesson Foundation Grant to develop text messaging program for diabetes patients

Last week, the Center for Connected Health was awarded a research grant from the McKesson Foundation’s Mobilizing for Health initiative to develop a text messaging program to help diabetes patients better manage their condition.

Their randomized, controlled clinical trial will integrate a text messaging program into an existing Diabetes Self-Management and Education program at three of Massachusetts General Hospital’s community health centers representing medically underserved and low-income populations in the Boston area. The goal of this study is to assess the effect of personalized text messages on clinical outcomes and physical activity in patients with Type 2 Diabetes, many of whom are obese or have low levels of activity. Results will be measured by change in HbA1c (the clinical measure for blood sugar control), as well as patients’ engagement, usability and satisfaction with the program. This study will also use pedometers to measure physical activity, to better target messages to engage patients in behavior change to increase their activity levels.

You can learn more about this initiative here (PDF)

What HIPAA says about texting (SMS) mobile messaging

Don't miss this upcoming free webinar sponsored by TigerText:

HIPAA Texting What Are You and Your Hospital Doing?

Please join us for a free webinar roundtable overview of how the medical community is using mobile communication and how you can adopt the speed and efficiency of mobile messaging without compromising PHI.

Monday October 17th @ 11 a.m. PST

Webinar Topics:

• Mobile Communication in Hospital Environments
• What HIPAA says about mobile messaging
• What's your potential exposure?
• Case Study - Cone Health Hospitalists Program

Why Attend:

• HIPAA Audits are Coming
• Understand mobile and how it impacts your staff
• Learn what HIPAA actually says about mobile
• Find out how to protect you and your staff

SmokefreeTXT

Have you heard of smokefree.gov? The government is using mobile health technologies to help people quit smoking.

SmokefreeTXT is a free mobile service designed for teens and adults across the United States. SmokefreeTXT was created to provide 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips to help smokers stop smoking for good.

Signing up is quick and easy – and FREE! Quit smoking today and learn more here.

Texting and HIPAA - are physicians being compliant?

Don't miss this upcoming webinar: HIPAA Texting – What Are You and Your Hospital Doing?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Physicians are “Super Users” when it comes to smartphones with a penetration rate of 83% compared the general population penetration of approximately 40%. No matter what your hospital policy may be on secure messaging – you can bet that Doctors are texting! We’ve assembled a panel of experts to give you a quick overview on how healthcare providers are using mobile communication and what are the inherent risks to PHI. Legal and compliance experts will weigh in on what HIPAA actually says, as it applies to mobile messaging and a potential risk assessment – what are the potential penalties and exposures? How can you implement a mobile messaging platform that helps Doctors and Hospitals communicate in a secure, compliant, mobile environment on the devices they are already using.

Temple University uses text messages to reach underserved communities with health information

Here's a great story on MobileHealthWatch about Temple University using text messages to reach underserved communities with health information:

Temple is using a $100,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to push cardiovascular health information out to neighboring communities through text messaging.

Given that people living in underserved communities often have mobile phones, it's no surprise that the folks at Temple University would choose this method to reach this patient population. Here are a few additional snippets from the Temple news story:

Much of the area around Temple is classified as medically underserved, which is defined by the Department of Health and Human Services as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty and/or a high elderly population. Further, medically underserved populations may face economic, cultural or linguistic barriers to health care.

William Santamore, Professor of Medicine and Director of Telemedicine Research, said the goal of Telemedicine Light is to get around those barriers to disseminate health information effectively.

Texting to quit smoking: txt2stop

Here's a study published in The Lancet that looked at the role of texting to help smokers quit:

"Smoking cessation support delivered via mobile phone text messaging (txt2stop): a single-blind, randomised trial"

Background
Smoking cessation programmes delivered via mobile phone text messaging show increases in self-reported quitting in the short term. We assessed the effect of an automated smoking cessation programme delivered via mobile phone text messaging on continuous abstinence, which was biochemically verified at 6 months.

Methods
In this single-blind, randomised trial, undertaken in the UK, smokers willing to make a quit attempt were randomly allocated, using an independent telephone randomisation system, to a mobile phone text messaging smoking cessation programme (txt2stop), comprising motivational messages and behavioural-change support, or to a control group that received text messages unrelated to quitting. The system automatically generated intervention or control group texts according to the allocation. Outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome was self-reported continuous smoking abstinence, biochemically verified at 6 months. All analyses were by intention to treat. This study is registered, number ISRCTN 80978588.

Hospitals Embrace Text Messaging of Emergency Room Wait Times

Patient Satisfaction, Load Balancing Drive Trend

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to Miami-based healthcare technology company ER Texting, Inc., more hospitals are publicizing emergency room wait times through text messaging but for reasons that go beyond driving patient traffic.

Using ER Texting, patients can send a text message to a dedicated SMS short code (4ER411) and instantly receive a message in return which lists the emergency room wait times for participating hospitals in their area. The application enables patients to find hospitals with the shortest wait times using any mobile phone.

TigerText Providing Secure and HIPAA-compliant Text Messaging Through Industry Leading Physician Scheduling Software

New integrated solution enables clinicians to text message each other directly from the Amion online scheduling through a secure, private mobile network provided by TigerText

June 15, 2011 (Santa Monica, CA) – TigerText, Inc, the worldwide leader in private mobile messaging for consumers and healthcare organizations, today announced its integration with Amion’s industry leading physician and hospital-wide scheduling software. More than 5000 physician groups, residency programs and hospitals currently use Amion’s scheduling service that enables hospital staff to view assignments, submit special requests, swap shifts online and page on-call staff. Now with TigerText, these same customers can enable a private, secure and compliant text messaging network with their existing computers and smartphones. TigerText provides clinicians and administrators with an easy-to-implement solution to increase workflow and reduce risk.

Text2Quit to quit smoking

Quitting smoking is difficult. The average smoker makes at least 6 to 9 quit attempts. Text2Quit is your mobile coach every step of the way.

Text2Quit Overview

• Uses mobile technology combined with evidence-based best practices to help smokers successfully quit
• Incorporates Surgeon General’s smoking cessation guidelines and key lessons from peer-reviewed studies demonstrating effectiveness in helping smokers quit via mobile phone
• Studies have shown that text-based interventions are 2 times more likely to help smokers quit
• Personalized to the user’s profile and supports multiple quit attempts based on their own feedback.
• Text2Quit is developed with smoking cessation and health communication experts from George Washington University

Learn more here.

Texting Illegally? How Secure Messaging Increases Physician Satisfaction and Keeps You HIPAA Compliant

Free Webinar: Texting Illegally? How Secure Messaging Increases Physician Satisfaction and Keeps You HIPAA Compliant

Speakers:

Dr. James French, Executive Director, Triad Hospitalists at Moses Cone Health System

Date: June 15, 2011
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Free Webinar for iHT2 Constituents

It’s the most illegal activity taking place in hospitals today. But enough about texting. Dr. James French, Executive Director, Triad Hospitalists at Moses Cone Health System in Greensboro, N.C, examines the three simple things his hospital did to improve communication, increase physician satisfaction, and maintain HIPAA compliance using the existing Smartphones nurses and doctors carry in the pockets every day. Every medical practitioner, healthcare executive or hospital administrator should sign up for this lively and informative presentation by one of Healthcare's true visionaries.

New Toolkit of Public Health Emergency Text Messages Available

A new toolkit of prepared cell phone text messages advising people how to protect their health after a disaster is now available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These messages support state and local emergency managers in disaster response. Residents should contact their local emergency management agency to find out it text message alerts are available in their area and to register.

You can find more information here.